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1988 SAAB 9000 I put my battery cables on backwards

Tiny
JVNSLAMAR
  • MEMBER
  • 1988 SAAB 9000
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
  • 212,000 MILES
I bought a new battery and put the cables on backwards. Saw a little smoke and took the cables off the terminals 20sec top. Haven't driven the car for about a month. I put the cables back on the battery and it cranked right up everything is working fine except the radio. I am going to need a new alternator cable because it was damaged but what about battery cables? Do you think I fried anything else? And how much will it run me to have an electrician replace wiring?
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Thursday, January 17th, 2008 AT 1:24 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
FLEXY5
  • MECHANIC
  • 512 POSTS
Unless you can see visible damage to the cables (such as melting) the cables should be fine. As to the rest of the wiring, where did you see the smoke coming from. You can inspect the wiring in that area to check for visible damage. If you don't see visible damage, you probalby didn't damage the wiring enough to have it replaced. It would also be difficult to say if anything else was damaged. Check for a fuse first on the radio, but it may well be cooked. Until the car gets driven for a complete drive cycle it's hard to guess on anything else. You may want to remove the alternator also and have it checked. Alts are prone to burn out by reverse polarity. If you have any further questions feel free to ask.
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Thursday, January 17th, 2008 AT 5:53 PM

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